Spiral
by lesliexhale
Summary: 'They don't understand that Isaac wants to be wanted to the point that he'll take the abuse because it's better than being utterly alone and miserably invisible.' AU Teen Wolf fic based on Isaac. Pairings: Derek/Stiles, Isaac/Jackson, Isaac/Original character
1. Cycle

Isaac knows that people can see the bruises and no one says anything. He knows that most people probably just assume that he's being bullied in school because it's all the rave now a days. It's the only thing people can talk about - or - it's the only thing that people used to talk about because like every hot topic it gains attention and people claim that they are going to stop this oh-so-important-epidemic and they make youtube videos about it and they make t-shirts and then pretty soon it dies down. Maybe people aren't talking about it so much anymore or the news stops putting out stories. Then pretty sure water is poured on what was once a wild fire - a campaign so to speak - of a cause that was once deemed so great that it soon disappears and just becomes a distant memory.

No one cares to ask and no one cares to know that his father has abused him for as long as he can remember. No one cares to ask and no one cares to know that yes, Jackson isn't the oh-so-straight-dating-Lydia-for-social-status-lacrosse-player that he likes everyone to think he is. No. Jackson likes Isaac. Jackson liked Isaac enough to reel him in of broken promises before turning in his once comforting hands into hands that continue the bruises and the scars that tells a story of years of torment.

Isaac hears how people talk about abusive relationships. To everyone else, they can leave at any time but they don't understand. They don't understand what it's like to not be wanted. They don't understand the desperate need for someone to actually want them. They don't understand that Isaac wants to be wanted to the point that he'll take the abuse because it's better than being utterly alone and miserably invisible.

It isn't the first time that Jackson puts on a show for the class. Isaac flinches the moment that Jackson suddenly gets too close and Isaac can see under his eyelashes the smirk that Jackson wears on his face. It's a smirk of pride - the smirk of pride that he can get a few chuckles from their fellow classmates and pride that he can get someone like Isaac Lahey to be intimidated by something so small.

But not everyone chuckles. When he looks ahead of himself he can see Scott and Stiles throwing nasty glances in Jackson's direction. He can see Scott say something under his breath before turning around in his chair. Stiles doesn't turn around immediately though but instead casts a glance in Isaac's direction before finally following his friends lead by turning around to the front of the room but that's mostly because the teacher is getting on his case and Stiles doesn't need another detention.

* * *

Sometimes, Isaac can't help but glance up into the stands to see who had come to see the lacrosse game. Scott's mother is there in her nurse uniform and he assumes that's because she will probably have to rush off to work right after it's over. Isaac barely ever sees Stiles' father there because he's off saving Beacon Hills from the bad guys that go bump in the night and to him that's understandable. Jackson's parents are there to see their son steal the spotlight but Isaac's eyes doesn't stay on them long as he glances along through the ground at recognizable faces until his blue eyes fall on two people that he had never seen before.

The man sat there with his eyes locked on the field. His blue eyes were intense and it almost seems as if that he looks with intent and when Isaac follows the man's gaze, he realizes that his eyes are bouncing from Scott to Stiles to back to Scott again. When he looks towards the woman sitting next to them, their eyes connect and Isaac feels immediately awkwardness to the point that he has to quickly look away. After a moment passes, he finally looks back and realizes that the woman is no longer looking at him and has instead stood up and began walking through the stands to leave.

Isaac doesn't have much time to ponder it because pretty soon he can hear Jackson's voice over everyone else's telling him to get his head out of his ass and his mind back on the game.

* * *

When the game is over and Isaac is about to walk off the field to meet with his father who will probably have nothing nice to say and will ask him why he didn't play the game better, he sees the same unfamiliar face again. He's standing off to the side of the field with a less than amused Stile standing in front of him. Isaac can't make out what either of them are saying but Stiles slaps the man in the chest with the back of his hand but before the obviously older man can do anything in retaliation, Scott approaches and his attention is taken off of the clearly agitated Stiles.

But Isaac doesn't get the chance to see what happens next before his father is practically dragging him off the field so they can get to the car and get home. He knows it only means trouble for him because he can never do anything right in his father's eyes and he knows that this time may mean a trip down to the dreaded basement.

And as usual, that will lead Isaac to going to Jackson's and that will lead to the vicious cycle beginning again.


	2. The Sun Also Rises

**Note;** This chapter does deal with cutting. Skip to the second part of the chapter if you don't want to read it. Also a big thanks to everyone that has followed/commented this fic. I'm glad a lot of people like it. This second chapter was a little hard to write and I consider it a bit of a 'filler' chapter to get everything else in the fic rolling. Enjoy.

* * *

_"And lead us not into temptation_

_but deliver us from evil."_

Matthew 6: 9-13

* * *

Isaac only likes the look of his own blood when he's the one doing the damage. Maybe it's because it hurts less or maybe because he doesn't have to look up at his father's proud face as he creates another marking - another marking - another scar to remind Isaac of their 'father-son bonding time'. Doing his own damage is the reason why he's usually the last one out of the locker room after lacrosse practice. No one ever really decides to check up on the quiet kid that no one really likes anyone.

It's a relief, really. Then again, maybe Isaac is just doing it for the attention. What attention, he's not really sure of. No one pays much attention to him anyway but maybe he wants to get caught. Maybe he wants someone to remember the bag they left behind and they have no choice but to come back to stumble upon him. They'll have no choice but to ask him what is wrong and they'll have no choice but to seek help from coach or some other teacher holed up in their classroom long after all the students are gone.

Or maybe Isaac just does it to do it. Maybe there really isn't a reason but Isaac isn't going to waste his time debating on why he does the things he does. No one bothers to waste their time thinking about him so why should he waste his dwelling on the consequences of his actions?

One more cut.

One more line of blood.

And for one moment everything is a-okay because Isaac isn't feeling a damn thing.

Or well, he wasn't feeling a damn thing until he feels someone's tight grip on his fresh wound and when he looks up he finds Jackson staring down at him. Isaac can't find a word to say to the man as they lock eyes in silence. It seems like forever really where they are both just staring at each other and neither one of them seems to have it in them to say something. But finally, Jackson is the one to break the unbearable silence between them.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Isaac jerks back to get his wrist out of Jackson's grip and pulls down his sleeve, "Nothing." He tries to get away with a simple answer as he grabs his bag and stands up but Jackson isn't letting him off that easily.

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"Why do you care?" Isaac usually isn't this bold and he's almost surprised that he managed to come back at Jackson like that but deep down, he's almost proud of him.

Jackson almost looks confused and for one hopeful minute, Isaac thinks that maybe Jackson will give him what he's looking for but two words spoken out of the number one lacrosse player's mouth shatters all of that.

"I don't." Isaac watches as Jackson shrugs. "I just wanted to see what you were doing tonight."

Isaac takes in a deep breath as he as he shifts nervously, "I can't…my dad will -"

"Forget your dad," Jackson interrupts as he takes an almost threatening step towards Isaac, "your dad isn't important right now. I am."

Isaac keeps his eyes away from Jackson's which is something he mostly learned from his father. It's almost like the number one rule when someone approaches a wild animal: Never look it in the eyes because it might believe you're a threat. Yeah, only if that worked for people.

"Okay."

"Good." Jackson smiles at Isaac as he reaches out and pats the teenager on the side of his face, "I'll see you tonight."

* * *

The first time Isaac meets Derek Hale and his pack is when he's in the graveyard after not meeting going over to Jackson's. Apart of him doesn't even care that he didn't go and that Jackson would only get pissed because somewhere between his dad kicking the crap out of him and him running out to the graveyard to dig his own death bed, he met his savoir. Apart of Isaac is surprised to see Stiles and Scott there but in way he's not. He saw Derek at the lacrosse game watching Scott and then he saw the same man having what looked to be an argument with Stiles. The one person he doesn't know out of the four is Holly Becker. He doesn't exactly get a biography on her from Derek because the older man has other things in mind.

Being told about werewolves doesn't shock Isaac and he doesn't bother questioning it either because the way Derek tells this story lets him know that what he's saying is legit and that the four of them aren't lunatics or apart of some crazy cult offering false promises. But, of course like every good thing, there's a down side but Isaac couldn't find it in himself to actually care.

"I want it."

* * *

By the time Isaac gets home, the sun is about to come up and he's almost grateful that it's the weekend because the last thing he wants to do in that moment is go to school. He climbs through his window but instead of getting into bed right away, Isaac turns around and through his window he watches the sun come up. He knows the sun is rising on the new him - the new Isaac because in a sense the old Isaac died in the graveyard that night.

It's a new dawn.

It's a new day.

And it's a new him.


	3. New Perspective

_"Stop there and let me correct it_

_I want to live a life from a new perspective."_

Panic! at the Disco

* * *

The next time Jackson gets the chance to see Isaac it's at lunch and he's not alone. Usually the kid isn't even in the lunch room let alone sitting with a group of people - only these aren't just any people - they're Stiles, Scott, and some girl he didn't even know existed until that day and Jackson can practically feel himself cringe as he watches the three of them. He watches as Stiles says something and the girl laughs and even makes Isaac's lips turn up into a slight smile. His eyes follows Scott as he gets up motioning towards Holly but she politely waves him off as he walks off and Jackson takes his opportunity.

He mumbles something to Danny before getting up and crossing the cafeteria. Stiles is the first one to notice him and he makes a dramatic movement that causes the other two to look up. Isaac is the first one to look away but the girl keeps her eyes on him until he finally reaches the table and sits down in Scott's seat.

"Jackson Whittemore right?" She tilts her head to the side as she reaches out to grab the can of soda she must have gotten out of one of the vending machines.

"Yeah," Jackson replies with a cocky smirk, "heard of me?" He can't help but glance over in Isaac's direction as if he's having some kind of secret conversation with the girl.

She raises an eyebrow as she glances towards Isaac who just simply shakes his head before she looks back at Jackson, "If you're asking me if Isaac goes on and on about you, he doesn't. Do you need some ice for that burn?" She smirks back at him as she leans forward just a bit as if she's actually interested in his reply.

"Who are you anyway?"

Isaac can't help but grin to himself as he keeps his eyes on the food in front of him. He knows it's not every day that someone actually challenges Jackson let alone that the someone just happens to be a girl. He knows all too well that Jackson is used to having people worship the ground he walks on but Holly isn't having any of it and secretly, Isaac is loving every minute of it.

"Holly Becker," Stiles chimes in, "Holly meet Jackson the number one jack ass co-captain of the lacrosse team."

"Who asked you to speak?"

"Pretty sure Stiles can chime in whenever he wants to, Jackson and besides, you're the one who came to us not the other way around."

Stiles can tell that this situation is about to turn into an all out bitch fight and while secretly he's enjoying the fact that Jackson is verbally getting his ass handed to him, he doesn't want any of this to escalate. However, Isaac is thinking the complete opposite. He honestly wouldn't mind if Holly kicked the lacrosse player's ass right in front of everyone.

"I came to talk to Isaac, in private. Come on." Jackson grabs a hold of Isaac's shirt aggressively and before he knows it, Holly is standing up as well and her hand is locked on to his wrist.

"You aren't going to grab him like that again. Understand me?" Jackson's eyes grow wide as he notices the flash of red in Holly's eyes and the shock alone makes him let go of Isaac's jacket.

"Whoa, whoa, ladies." Stiles stands up as he holds his arms out in an awkward attempt to settle the situation, "Now is not the time for this."

"You…but Derek -"

"Derek isn't the only Alpha in existence sweetheart." Holly eyes meets with Jackson's for only a moment as she sits back down in her seat. "Speaking of, how is that bite working out for you? You know the full moon is coming soon…"

"Everyone okay?"

Stiles makes another dramatic movement while rolling his eyes as Scott approaches the table again, "No everyone is not okay. We almost just witnessed a werewolf throw down."

"It's okay," Holly says with a smile, "Jackson was just leaving, right?"

Jacksons' eyes bounce from Holly to Isaac before back to Holly again. He knew he already lost this battle and he decides to cut his losses before things get too out of hand. Besides, Isaac can't be around these three forever. The moment he turns around and begins to walk away, he can hear the three of them behind him go back to talking as if he was never there at all.

* * *

"Jackson's an asshole."

"Tell me about it." Isaac throws a glance in Holly's direction as they walk into the abandoned house they happened to be squatting in for now. The Hale house definitely wasn't going to work considering it was barely able to do much for Derek.

"Should I even ask?" Derek looks up to the three entering the home from where he's sitting on the steps.

"Other than Holly over here practically outing herself to everyone, no." Stiles gestures to Holly before quickly joining the older wolf on the steps.

"Like you never wanted to beat Jackson into a pulp?" Scott chimes in as he shuts the door behind him.

"Yeah but if I did that would not end up good for me and we all know I'm fragile." Stiles smiles a little not at all unused to talking himself down as he nudges the older Alpha with his leg. It's usually a joke most of the time and well some of the time it's not. Human or not, Jackson could still probably rip Stiles in half if he wanted to.

"Do we really need Jackson? He's not much of a team player." This time it's Isaac that speaks and he's mostly speaking from experience. For the last two years he played lacrosse with the guy and he could have cared less about his team mates. He's only speaking from the fact that he knows firsthand that Jackson doesn't care about anyone but himself.

"He wanted the bite and I gave it to him which comes with certain conditions. I need to know if he's going to be apart of this pack or if he's going to be an Omega."

"I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark here and say he's going to be an Omega." Stiles can't help but make a stabbing motion as he looks over at Derek.

"Then we leave him."

"We can't just leave Jackson to fend for himself." As much as Scott doesn't like Jackson, he knows that his co-captain wouldn't be able to make it out there on his own no matter what he may think of himself. At the end of the day Jackson was still only one person. If something happened it would surely get him killed.

"We don't have time to worry about it, Scott. We have other things to worry about." By the look on Derek's face, Scott knows that even if he asks he wouldn't be getting an answer anytime soon so instead he just sighs and nods.

"My mom's going to wonder where I am. I need to get out of here." Scott motions towards the door and doesn't bother to ask if Stiles is coming along because he already knows he gave his dad some lame excuse on why he wouldn't be home so he could instead stay with the three other wolves.

The moment Scott leaves, the trio heads upstairs and Stiles doesn't waste time blabbing about something that none of them care about and the only person that seems to be listening is Derek because by now he is completely used to have the teenager behaves. Derek is good at putting on a front but the other two wolves and even Stiles knows that the wolf secretly enjoys it because anyone with eyes can see that this relationship is a bit more than just for business purposes.

While the other two part, Isaac follows behind Holly into her and the moment he gets inside he slowly shrugs off his jacket as the other wolf climbs into bed. Neither of them say a word as Isaac joins her and happily accepts her arms that encircles him and pulls him close. Isaac knows he hasn't been home in the last two days since the Saturday morning he climbed through his window after receiving the bite and he knows when he does go home - because his father will eventually venture out to find him - it'll be hell to pay. But for right now, he wants to stay underneath a roof where he actually feels like he's in a real home and with the Alpha who attempted to protect him between the lesser of two evils earlier that afternoon

This was his pack and for the first time in a long time, Isaac felt safe.


	4. Omega

**Note; The tenses may be a little weird with this chapter. For some reason I started writing it in one tense for one part and I think I changed it in the next part, sorry about that.**

* * *

The next time Jackson gets to see the pack it has multiplied. Not just with anyone of course, but with Erica Reyes. It took Jackson a long while to dig around in his memory for her. Jackson wasn t really one to pay attention to people who weren t in his inner circle unless he was yelling at them to get out of his way or yelling at them on the lacrosse field. But either way, Jackson was noticing her now and he didn t like it.

He watched as Holly and Erica stood over by the blonde s locker and surprisingly they seemed friendly with each other. It wasn t everyday that two equally gorgeous girls could be friends with each other especially in high school, but Jackson had his own suspicions that Holly wasn t the average high schooler.

Isaac was next to join the two girls. He grinned at the both of them before taking his spot next to Holly. Jackson watched as Isaac ever so innocently allowed his fingers to brush against Holly s hand.

He s staring you know, Erica said as he glanced over in Jackson s direction before looking back at the other two wolves.

And I m sure he can hear every word you re saying, Holly chimed in.

Isaac glanced over in Jackson s direction. For a moment their eyes met and they both held each other s gazes in silence.

Let him stare. Isaac was the one to break the silence as he pulled himself away from the locker. He lightly took Erica s hand to pull her along with him and soon Holly was following suit. Isaac glanced back at Jackson one last time as he slipped his arm loosely around Holly s shoulders before turning away.

And he never looked back again.

* * *

"Do we really have to do this?"

"Derek asked us to."

Stiles did a dramatic movement as he turned towards Isaac, "Do you really do everything that Derek asks?"

"Don't you?" Isaac and Scott shared a look before grinning as they looked back towards Stiles.

"What?" Stiles threw his hands in the air, "I don't do everything he asks. I like to believe that at times I give him what he needs versus what he wants."

"And what he needs right now is for us to do what he asked."

Stiles sighed in reply to Isaac before speaking again, "Why does he even want Jackson? I would be a better werewolf than him."

"Then why don't you become one?" Isaac's question sounds more like a challenge than an actual question but it gains Scott's attention and curiousity.

"It was a hypothetical statement." No one had a chance to respond to Stiles because by then Jack had already entered the boy's locker room. He didn't bother to acknowledge the three boys as he put his things down and went around about his business. The three share a look before Isaac makes his move to approach the co-coptain.

'The Full moon will be here soon."

"Thanks for the info," Jackson replies dismissively as he glances slightly in the bother boy's direction.

Are you going to be apart of this or not?" For being a new wolf, Isaac was surprisingly keeping his cool towards Jackson.

"Apart of what?" Jackson finally stopped what he was doing to look at the three standing before him.

"The pack, dumbass, what do you think?" Stiles was the one to speak up that time and he almost had to fight the urge to roll his eyes.

"I don't owe Derek anything."

"He gave you what you wanted," Scott argued.

"Derek says..."

"Do you always listen to what the big bad Alpha says?" Jackson looked at Isaac as he interrupted him. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Jackson stood up, "I'm not joining Derek's stupid pack. Sorry to disappoint." He patted Isaac's shoulder before he moved past them.


	5. Devil On Your Back

"_It's hard to dance with a devil on your back_

_given half the chance would I take any of it back?"_

Glee _'Shake it off'_

It was training day but what the pack - minus Scott - wasn't expecting was for Holly to be hung up with her arms chained to the ceiling with a blind fold covering her eyes. No one really said anything but instead nervously glanced around. Some made glances towards Derek but stayed quiet - well as quiet as they could - they did have Stiles on their side after all.

He was the one brave enough to approach her. He glanced at the sight before him before turning around to face the others including Derek, "Is this really necessary?" Before anyone could reply or for Derek to give him a disapproving glance, Stiles felt strong legs wrapping around his neck, threatening to snap it like a twig. It was enough leverage for Holly to get as she pulled on the chains to break them. The weight of her alone was enough to send Stiles to the ground but the girl managed to break her fall enough so she didn't fall directly on Stiles. She grabbed him by the shirt and turned him over.

"Never turn your back on someone even if they're your friend." Holly reached out to pat the side of Stiles' face, "You failed cupcake."

Her 'you failed cupcake' sounded a lot like 'you are the weakest link' to the others and in a sense, Stiles was exactly that: he was human. He wasn't a werewolf and he didn't have the power needed to survive and Holly had just proven that.

Isaac watched as Stiles finally pulled himself up to a standing position as Holly walked away from him. He sighed a little before he opened his mouth to speak, "What is the point of this?" The last time he checked no one was trying to kill them so Isaac, and he was sure the others, didn't get it either.

"The point is to learn control and to protect yourselves,' Derek replied as he glanced over at Isaac.

"You feel untouchable now but you won't be forever." Holly glanced over at the other wolves before moving over towards a box placed against a wall.

"And what are we protecting ourselves from?" Erica was the next to speak. The last time checked, there weren't any known hunters in town.

"The hunters will come eventually. It's just a matter of time," Holly replied as she opened the box.

"How do you know so much about them?" Isaac was the one to ask that questioning allowing his curiosity to get the best of him.

Holly turned around to face the group with a black gun in her hand. She loaded it before looking up, "Because I used to be one."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us?" Isaac was the one to approach Holly on the subject knowing that none of the rest would. They walked away from the training session after it was done not bothering to throw of their questions at the Alpha but he couldn't just let it go. He didn't feel as if any of them should be left in the dark especially if someone's secret was that big and could put all of them in harms way.

"You weren't ready to know," Holly replied simply as she glanced over at her shoulder at the younger wolf. She sighed a little as she finally turned to face him knowing that Isaac wouldn't let it go that easily.

"Why are you helping us and how are you – "

"An Apha?" Holly interrupted him already knowing where he was going with this. "It's the same reason on why you never told anyone about your father or Jackson – because the shame and the pain proves to be too much. Or maybe, if you don't talk about it then it won't make it real."

Isaac stayed quiet as he processed what Holly had said to him. As much as he didn't want to agree, she was right.

"So…what is your story? How are you the Alpha and why are you helping us now?"

Holly let out a sigh as she motioned for Isaac to sit on the stairs with her. Her past wasn't something that she wanted to talk about but she figured that Isaac deserved to know the truth.

"I was adopted. I assume my parents died or one of them did for me to be what I am. I don't really remember much of my parents." Holly paused as she glanced down before looking back at Isaac, "Either way they're dead. The people that adopted me were hunters and I became their ultimate weapon. I didn't know any better. I was raised to be a killing machine. So, I killed other werewolves."

"What changed?"

"A simple question: Why?" Holly's voice went into a whisper as she stared out at the darkness. She could remember it all like it was yesterday. No one could ever truly run from their pasts no matter how hard they tried. The past, no matter what people said, had a way of coming back to bite you. It didn't matter if you tried to forget it and tried to look to the future, the past would always be just one step behind you and it was always just one step behind her.

"Someone asked me why and I didn't have an answer, so, I ran away. I changed my name and I met Derek while I was in New York and here I am."

Isaac stayed quiet as he tried to process everything that Holly had said to him. He didn't know how he was supposed to respond to that. Really, how would anyone respond to a story like that?

"The hunters will come eventually," Holly said repeating what she had told Isaac and the others earlier. She sighed as she stood up and towards the stairs but stopped briefly, "I'll have to face my demons at some point, Isaac, and so will you."

Isaac sat up a little straighter with that as Holly finally moved up the stairs towards her room leaving him alone in the darkness. He didn't know what he felt or what he really thought. Was all of this supposed to change his outlook on Holly? Was anything she said supposed to mean something greater for him? Of course it did because what she said stuck with him.

Sooner or later he would have to face his demons.

Sooner or later he would have to go home.

* * *

**Note; Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been following/reviewed/PMed the story. It means a lot. I meant to keep Holly's background for later but with the writer's block I had for this fic I kind of just went with whatever came to mind until I reach an end point.**

**Sidenote: I have a tumblr that has a lot of updates/graphics and stuff for Spiral. If any of you have a tumblr or just want to check it out its _sassy-isaac. _You can message me there about the fic/look for updates/talk to me about anything. **

**I'll hopefully have chapter 6 updated sometime this week.**


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